FACES & STORIES - nIZA

PROVIDING SOCIAL SUPPORT TO VULNERABLE FAMILIES

"I LOVE DRAWING AND MATHS SO WHEN i GROW UP I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO BE AN ARTIST - BUT MY MUM WANTS ME TO BE AN ACCOUNTANT" NIZA, AGED 11

In order to support his mum in explaining to him he is HIV+ we enrolled her in our early disclosure programme, where we provide care givers the information and tools they need to share witht their child their status. Early disclosure of status is shown to reduce the risk of a child not taking their medication correctly as they become a teenager.

When Niza was informed of his status he had a lot of questions so we enrolled him into our childrens support groups. He quickly settled into the support group, where he asked a lot of questions and learned a lot about HIV, stigma, discrimination and began to make friends with his peers. And to support him in boosting his immune system we provided him with 3 months of nutritional support. Six months later Niza is doing very well. He is medically stable and fully understands about HIV and the importance of taking his medicine to stay healthy.

Being medically stable means he can go to school, and get the education he deserves, so that when he is older he can get a good job and grow up to live his dream of being an artist! ​